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sermon

Hearing The Invisible

2016 · WPF Summit 2016, Pigeon Forge

Transcript of a published sermon by Cornelius Williams, transcribed from YouTube. An attributed primary source — not Acts 2:38 Life doctrine text.

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Summary

Summary prepared by Acts 2:38 Life from the transcript below — the preacher’s words follow in full.

Faith is the evidence of things not seen

  • He has been tasked with the daunting task of keeping the congregation's attention at lunchtime — he feels like he's contending with Paula Deen this morning. He is humbled to stand before this people and thanks the leaders who asked him to preach this conference: Brother Sandy, Brother Bass, Brother Godair, and Bishop Wilson have led a trail of breadcrumbs that catapulted us to this moment of Summit 2016. Jude encourages us to earnestly contend for the faith. His family is here to support him: his beautiful parents on the first row, his brother and one of his sisters, his extended family, his in-laws the Frost family — his mother- and father-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, his brother's wife — and his church family who rode the church bus here, and all those praying at home via Holy Ghost Radio, whose ministry through his good friend Brother Jeff Hoffer has extended the voice of this apostolic doctrine outside the doors of the church. Before reading the text he was given — 2 Corinthians 4:18 — he reads two additional Scriptures. Hebrews 11:1: "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Romans 10:17: "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." And 2 Corinthians 4:18: "While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal." His thought: hearing the invisible. Turn to your neighbor and say, "I want to hear God's voice when I can't see God's hand." If we take a general survey, we would find that many of us have heard the common idea that individuals who are blind or visually impaired have supernatural-like abilities to hear better than those who have their sight — and it is more than an idea: numerous scientific studies and specialized hearing tests confirm that in most cases those who have lost their sight can hear low-frequency sounds and recognize low-pitch tones better than those who can see. Even in the lives of famous men like Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder — coincidentally both blinded at early ages, and coincidentally both world-famous musicians — there is a unique connection between our ability to hear when our vision has been lost. From the Word of God, we understand the apostolic church is built upon having vision — the Bible tells us that without a vision the people perish. But if we are going to see the invisible promises of God manifested in these last days, we must not, cannot, and shall not allow ourselves to trust solely on what we see. There will come a day in your life, your walk with God, your ministry, when problems and situations and circumstances will cause you to lose sight of the promises of God: a shaking and a quaking, and you will find yourself lonely and seeking direction, feeling as though the vision God spoke into your life, the plans and promises He ordained, have been lost. It is at that moment we realize we cannot put our trust in what we see. Many of us, laboring in the kingdom prior to this conference, have been perplexed and bombarded with questions: "What do I do if I feel God has called me to a city, and I'm planting seeds of righteousness in that city, and yet I am not seeing — as Brother Will Banks has said — results in that city? What do I do if I'm praying and fasting and seeking the promises of God, and every time I get down to pray it seems heaven has shut its doors and the promise is still invisible?" If you're one of those people, the message is simple and sure: if we're going to survive in this last day and see the invisible promises of God, I refuse to allow the enemy to affect my spiritual mindset by the things I can and cannot see. There are going to be days you get down and pray and say, "God, I haven't seen the miracles yet; I haven't seen the revival yet; I haven't seen the influx of souls yet" — but God is still there, every word He says is true, every promise He has ordained shall come to pass, and it does not matter if you can see it or not; what matters is if you can still get down at an altar and hear the voice of God. With faith coming by hearing and hearing by the Word of God, and faith being the evidence of things not seen, if there's faith still down in your feeble soul — if you feel weak, weary, broke down, busted, and disgusted — God is still on the throne, and you can stir up that faith if you can just heed the voice of God even when you can't see the invisible.

Scriptures: Hebrews 11:1; Romans 10:17; 2 Corinthians 4:18; Jude (book-only, as spoken)

He that hath an ear

  • There is a resounding sound in this last day: the Bible tells us at least seven times in the book of Revelation, "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit" — which is Jesus Christ, God Almighty — "is saying to the churches." That New Testament church is the same church sitting here this morning, and the Spirit is still saying to the church: let him hear. Why? Because Jesus said, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me," and "a stranger they will not follow, for they do not know the voice of the stranger." Jesus Christ said, "I stand at the door and knock; if any man hear My voice, I will come in unto him, and I will sup with him, and he with Me." There may be so many kinds of voices in this world, and none of them are without signification — but I shall not heed the voice of this world; I cannot. I want to hear the voice of Almighty God, the voice of Jesus Christ the righteous — when I can't see, I still have to be led by the voice of God. If God desires for us to hear His voice and His voice only, then as the apostolic church, if we're going to see revival in these last days, we have to be wary, leery, and cognizant of the voices we allow to speak in our ears. There is a devil, a lying, deceitful serpent, trying to destroy the apostolic church; there is a voice speaking into the ears of this generation — agnostic voices of educators and the public school system, godless and God-hating politicians and entertainers trying to tear and pull and twist the ears of the church. But I shall not hear the voices of an enemy or static voices of negativity, because God's Word is true, God's Word is anointed, God's Word shall stand, and it is God's voice I shall seek after. From the beginning of time, Adam and Eve, in the infancy of human life, had the opportunity to either be led by what they saw or be led by the voice of God. But Eve was one of impaired vision and selective hearing: as she looked upon the fruit, the Bible says it was good to look upon — her vision was distorted and contorted to look at the fruit of that tree rather than all the goodness of the garden God had prepared for them. They didn't see the good God had done; all they could see was what they couldn't have. And rather than heed the voice of God that said, "Of every tree you shall eat, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat," Eve allowed herself to hear the voice of a smooth, sly, seductive serpent — and when they could have partaken in the promises of God, they were cursed in the garden because they allowed themselves to hear the wrong voice. The children of Israel, on the cusp of the Red Sea, freed from the captivity of the Egyptians on their way to the place of promise, had impaired vision and selective hearing too: they looked behind them and saw the Egyptians chasing after them; all they could see were the whips of the taskmasters and the gold of Egypt; they envisioned the fish and the cucumbers and the onions and thought that was better than the milk and honey that flowed in the promised land. They didn't see the pillar of fire by night, the cloud by day, the manna that fell from heaven, or the water that flowed from the rock — all they saw was their past and their problems. And he tells the apostolic church today: I love my heritage, I love this truth, but if we're going to have revival in these last days, I can't keep looking behind me saying, "I wish it was the way it was"; I can't harness myself to grandma's promises; I've got to get it for myself. "There are giants in the land; I can't win. I can't win souls in a drug-infested city, in the murder capital of the United States of America, when there's prostitution on every corner and single moms dragging six and seven kids to the store — there are giants in the land, barriers, walls too great in the promised land." Whose report are you listening to? The Bible says that as they spied out the land of Canaan, ten spies came back with an evil report, and that evil report made the heart of the people melt — talk about evaporating your faith: "God, I thought You said we can have the land; I thought You said we can have the promise." But there were two people who said: "I don't care what that report says; I'm going to believe the report of the Lord. I don't care what they say; I want to hear what He has to say. I don't want to hear the voices of negativity; I don't want to listen to doubters, pouters, complainers, whiners, naysayers, and vision slayers" — "I can get away with 'whiners.' I'm from Louisiana." I want to hear the voice of God. Not only did they have impaired vision and selective hearing, but something rose up in the land of Israel and in the tribes of the people — in fact, it rose up in the ministry, as the spirit of Korah grabbed a hold of the Levites and they said, "Moses, you take too much upon you. Moses, I'm a preacher too; God can speak to me too." They forgot that God had ordained and designated an apostolic prophet to speak to the people. Sometimes we feel that under our anointing, God loves and cares for us so much that He will step out of heaven into our prayer rooms, tap us on our shoulders, and give us some unique and new word. But there is no new word; there is no new revelation: if you're going to hear from God, you're going to hear it in three places mostly — in the preached Word of God, from the Word of God, or through prayer. If I'm going to be led by any spirit, I want to be led by the Spirit of God. I believe that all things are possible to them that love Jesus Christ; I believe I can do all things through Jesus Christ who strengthens me.

How shall they hear without a preacher?

  • Romans 10:14 says, "How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?" If you're a saint of God today and you've been praying for direction — you feel like you're blind, stumbling around in the dark trying to find your way: "God, do I turn left, do I turn right? Which way am I supposed to go? I've been fasting, I've been praying, I've been consecrating myself. God, am I supposed to start a bus route? Knock doors and outreach? Teach a Bible study? God, I need a sign of direction" — I'm going to tell you where you're going to get your direction: there's an apostolic, anointed prophet of God who stands behind your pulpit, and if you're going to hear the voice of God, you need to learn to hear the voice of the man of God. We can dissect, criticize, and analyze the sermon — make sure he got his Google facts just right — but I don't want to question the man of God if he's preaching from the Word of God, for in them you will find life, vision, and destiny. I have to train myself to hear the man of God when I'm weak and weary and I need a word desperately from God; I can't allow the voices of Satan to infiltrate my spirit and drag my faith down so low that I don't even know if I'm still called by God. You don't know how many days people cry, sad and lonely, saying, "God, I can't see the vision You gave me anymore. God, where is the invisible promise You gave my family? Where is the promise You gave to my church? Where is the revival You promised me?" It is at the time of desperation that we need to hear from God — from the voice of heaven, from Jesus Christ. This is the message for today: how to seek out the voice of God in the dry place. There will come a day where there will be famine in your land, famine in your heart, where your prayer life will seem to have drifted away; days when you find yourself in a prayer closet and can't even find the words to ask God for what you need; days when you're looking for a miracle, a sign, direction, and you feel like you're in a dry place — the ground dry, the land barren, no fruit to be seen, no results. "God, You said to step out on faith, but every time I step out, I'm stepping on dry ground. God, I don't know if the people of this city really want to be saved." But it's in that time that we need to know who our God is: God will never leave you, He will never forsake you, and He's always there. Job found himself in this predicament: think right now about the dry place — what did Job say? "Behold, I go forward, but He is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive Him; on the left hand, where He doth work" — God, where I know You're supposed to do miracles, where destiny is supposed to be seen and revival is supposed to spring up — "I cannot behold Him: He hideth Himself on the right hand, that I cannot see Him." It's like, God, I can't feel You; I can't see You; where are You? "But He knoweth the way that I take." But God knows — He knows the way that you take; He knows the path you have been set on. When you can't see the path and it looks dark, God is still there: every step you take, His hand is still guiding you; every moment His voice is still there, saying, "Stay on the straight and narrow; don't deviate to the left; don't deviate to the right; you keep living holy, you keep walking holy, you keep serving Me, and I will bring it to pass. And when He hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold."

Scriptures: Romans 10:14; Job 23:8

Laborers in a dry vineyard

  • In the dry place, God has called us to be laborers in His vineyard. But I'll be honest this morning: as a servant of God, there will come a day where you feel as though your labor is in vain — that's only if you're honest with yourself. But the Bible tells us emphatically that for them that labor in Christ, the labor is not in vain. And as we find ourselves in places of dryness, we are confronted with the voice of God as He came unto Ezekiel: "Son of man, can these bones live?" What do you see when you look out into this valley? "I see a valley of dry bones." He's talking to a preacher: you look out in your city, and to your naked eye it seems a valley of dry bones — drugs on every corner, God-haters and Pentecostal imitators on every corner. But if you could only see what God sees: it may be invisible to you, but to God there's an exceeding great army that, if you will speak the word, shall rise up in your city; if you will believe the word, it will rise up in your spirit. As laborers in Christ we're tempted to ask too many questions and wander around — because we're so vision-oriented, so driven by what we see. The Bible says in Ecclesiastes that he that observeth the wind shall not reap, and he that regardeth the clouds shall not sow. We spend so much time saying, "God, I want to see," but there comes a day where we have to do less looking and more working. If we're going to be a revivalistic, evangelistic, apostolic church, we can't be afraid of hard work. He's grateful for the man of God right here: if there's one thing he taught him, it's that you better work until it hurts and give until it hurts — don't be afraid of hard work, consecration, or sacrifice; you've got to labor in the vineyards of God even when it's dry. Even in sowing and laboring for God, it may cause us to question our doctrine: the Bible tells a parable of the sower who sowed seeds — some seed fell on stony ground, some fell on thorns, but some fell on good ground. If you're looking to sow seeds only in good ground, there's a good chance you won't find revival in your church: there's nothing pretty about revival, nothing luxurious about it. You're going to have to sow seeds and plant seeds and keep throwing seeds and let them grow where they fall — believing in faith: "God, I don't know where the seeds are going to sprout, but if I keep sowing and planting and working, the invisible will be manifested in some good ground somewhere." They may come to your church dirty — that's the good ground that's left; they may come struck out on alcohol — that's the good ground that's still left. If you're looking for lawyers and doctors, there aren't too many left that still want to be saved — but if this world is going to be saved, we have to plant the seeds of the invisible. Jesus said: be not weary in well-doing, for in due season you shall reap if ye faint not. You've been weary, down, and destroyed — "I don't know if I should keep knocking doors; I don't know if I should keep outreaching" — when you don't see it, you just keep on keeping on: keep on praying, fasting, preaching, teaching Bible studies, knocking doors, running buses. "But what if only one soul comes to church?" The last time I checked, Jesus said there's joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth. I have to sow the seeds while it is day, for the night cometh when no man can work. If God says we can have the land, I want it; if God says we can have revival, I want it — because the Bible says He called things that are not as though they are: it may be invisible to you, but God already saw the revival; God already saw the souls coming. If hell can enlarge itself daily, so can the church. I've had many doors slammed in my face; I've been cursed out many times — but as many seeds as I can throw: there's nothing wrong with the ground, nothing wrong with the seed; I've got to keep preaching this doctrine and keep living this doctrine; I shall see the invisible.

Scriptures: Ecclesiastes (book-only, as spoken)

The sound of abundance of rain

  • Elijah got back to the top of the mountain, and the Bible says he bowed his face to the earth, trying to hear the voice of God: the land of Israel had been in a place of famine for three and a half years — no growth, no results, no harvest: the invisible. He spoke to his servant: "Go to the top of the mountain; tell me what you see." The servant trudged his way up the mountain, looked out, and came back to the bottom: "Elijah, I don't know what I was supposed to see, but there is nothing." Elijah said, "Go again — seven times." Our dignified, sanctified, purified, pretty Pentecostal selves would probably question the preacher at that point: "If I didn't see anything the first time, what makes you think I'm going to see something the second time — let alone the seventh? Where are the further instructions? What am I supposed to see?" But the Bible says that obedience is better than sacrifice: you learn to be an obedient servant by learning to be a good hearer; you have to learn to take instructions. He went back to the mountain, squinting his eyes a little, a little scared — "Man, Elijah lost his mind" — and he squinted out, and above the sea there rose a cloud: "I see the invisible." He ran down that mountain as fast as he could: "Elijah, I see a cloud the size of a man's hand." And Elijah said: get up, and don't let the rain stop you — for there is a sound of abundance of rain. The land that was barren and dry — the invisible was made visible, all because of a sound that a man of God heard. Sometimes you just have to wait on it: Jesus said, "Tarry in Jerusalem until you be endued with power from on high." And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all in one place and in one accord, and suddenly there came a sound from heaven — you know somebody knows there was a sound, because you can't hear a sound unless you hear it; somebody was listening. The invisible promise was heard before it was seen: after they heard the sound from heaven, the Bible says, "there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire." Some things may be dry; some things may be invisible — but there's a sound of abundance of rain; there's a sound brewing in the last-day church, in the apostolic church. I want to hear the sound of the invisible: the sound of Bible study pages turning, the sound of my hand knocking the doors of the lost. The close is an altar call to the conference: some of you came to Pigeon Forge — past Dollywood and Paula Deen's and all that — and you really, desperately need to hear from God; you've been laboring and working, your hands growing weary and your feet growing tired: "God, I need some direction; God, I need to hear Your voice." God, open up the ears of Your servants; open up the eyes of Your servants, that they may see that there are more that be with us than they that be with them. Speak, Lord — Your servant heareth. The upload ends inside that altar appeal.

Scripture index: Hebrews 11:1; Romans 10:17; 2 Corinthians 4:18; Romans 10:14; Ecclesiastes (book-only, as spoken); Job 23:8; Jude (book-only, as spoken).

Transcript

How about we praise God with our hands today. Come on, let's praise him with our voice. Come on. The psalmist said, "Enter into his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise." Anybody thankful for the Holy Ghost this morning? Come on. Anybody grateful that you know who Jesus is? Anybody glad that you're not confused who sits on the throne this morning? If you love the Lord, give the Lord another loud hand clap of praise. Hallelujah, Jesus. Hallelujah, Jesus. God, you're great and greatly to be praised. Amen. And it is truly an honor, a blessing, and a privilege to be in the presence of the Lord this morning. And I want to quickly mind my manners and say that I am truly sincerely humbled to stand before such a great people. to stand before the greatest church that has ever graced the face of this earth and to have been asked to preach this conference by these great leaders, the executive councils, general counselss, all men and parties who were responsible for me being here. I sincerely humbly thank you with no means or intentions for flattery, but I sincerely thank you for your confidence in me to preach this message today. To every man of God who's here, every preacher, evangelist, teacher, Sunday school teacher, bus drivers, your preachers, too. I thank you for being here and all the saints of God. Amen. and brother Sandy, Brother Bass, Brother Godair, Bishop Wilson have led a trail of breadcrumbs that have catapulted us to this very moment of summit 2016. And I am so grateful that God has confirmed his message this morning. And I'm grateful for what he's going to do. Jude tells us and encourages us to earnestly contend for the faith. And I've been tasked with the daunting task of keeping your attention at lunchtime. And I feel like I'm contended with Paula Deans this morning. Amen. Amen. So let us quickly turn our Bibles if you have them with you this morning to 2 Corinthians chapter 4 verse 18. And while you're turning there, I want to say that I'm so grateful for the host of friends and family who have come here to support me. My beautiful parents here on the first row. So glad that you're here. Love and appreciate them greatly. Amen. Amen. My brother, one of my sisters are here as well. My extended family, my in-laws, the Frost family. I'm so glad they're here. my mother, father-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, my brother's wife is here as well. So grateful that they're here, amen, to support me this morning. Love and appreciate you all my church family who's who wrote the church bus here. and all those that are praying at home via Holy Ghost radio. Appreciate the ministry of my good friend, brother Jeff Hoffer that has extended the voice of this apostolic doctrine besides and outside the doors of the church. Anybody glad for Holy Ghost radio this morning. I'll be reading from two additional scriptures prior to reading the verse in which I've told you to turn to. The first is found in Hebrews 11:1 and it says, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Romans 10:17 says, "So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God." 2 Corinthians 4:18 for your consideration says, "While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen, for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal." And I want to preach with the help of the Holy Ghost a simple thought. I do not plan to keep you long. In fact, I'm expecting God to show up here mightily this morning. I want to preach from the simple thought, hearing the

invisible. And I believe that God is going to speak to us this morning. I'm praying for an expectancy of the Holy Ghost to rle up in some apostolic this morning. I want you to turn to your neighbor and say, "I want to hear God's voice when I can't see God's hand." If there's any apostolic prayer warriors in the house that have the Holy Ghost deep down in your soul, I want you to lift your hands. I want you to lift up your voice and pray that the spirit of God will saturate this sanctuary right now. Come on, lift up your voice. every intercessor, every prayer warrior. If you need a word from God right now, is a good time to pray in the name of Jesus. God, we come into this house, God, asking God that your spirit will grace our souls right now. God, when we in need of direction, God, when we can't see the path that you have laid before us God, give us an ear to hear, God, your solemn word, Jesus, God, plant in our hearts, God, a deep desire to seek after the deep things of God. God, right now with the holy anointing, I pray God that you will grace, God, the tongue of your servant right now that I will preach your word without fear and favor and the uncction of the Holy Ghost and the mighty precious name that's above every name that is Jesus Christ. why don't you give the Lord a mighty hand clap of praise this morning? Come on. It's not too early to praise God this morning. Somebody clap and praise God like you love him. Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. Yes, God. Yes, God. Amen. You may be seated this morning in the fear of the Lord. If we were to take a general survey this morning, we would easily find that many of us have heard of the common idea that suggests that individuals who are blind or visually impaired have supernatural-like abilities to hear better than those who have their sight. Anybody heard that before? This for a matter of truth is more than an idea. For there have been numerous scientific studies, specialized hearing tests that confirm that conclude that this indeed is a fact that in most cases where an individual or one who has lost their sight have the ability to hear low frequency sounds, to recognize low pitch tunes, and to hear better than those who are able to see. Even if you were to look at the lives of men who we know, famous men like Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder who coincidentally both were blinded at early ages and who coincidentally both became world famous musicians. We will find that there is a unique connection between our abilities to hear when our vision has been lost. From the standpoint of the word of God, we understand, we preach it, we teach it, we live it, we breathe it. We understand that the apostolic church is built upon having vision. The Bible tells us that without a vision, the people perish. But I do want to preach and tell us this morning, warn us that if we're going to see the invisible promises of God manifested in these last days that we must not, cannot, and shall not allow ourselves to trust solely on what we see. All right. The reason for this is there will if that day has not come, there will come a day in your life, in your walk with God, in your ministry, in the things that you desire to do for God. There will come a day that problems and situations and circumstances will make you and cause you to lose sight of the promises of God. There's going to be a shaking and a quaking in your life at some point and you're going to find yourself lonely seeking direction. You're going to feel as though the vision that God has spoken into your life. The plans and the promises that God have ordained in your life, you're going to feel as though you have lost your vision. All right? And it is at this moment we shall realize that we cannot put our trust in what we see. And I am solely convinced that many of us prior to coming to this conference as we labor in the kingdom of God have been perplexed, bombarded with questions in our mind. Questions like, "What do I do if I feel that God has called me to a city and I'm planting seeds of

righteousness in that city and yet I am not seeing, as brother Will Banks has said, results in that city? What do I do if I'm praying and fasting and seeking after the promises of God in my life?, and yet every time I get down to pray, it seems as though heaven has shut its heavenly doors and the promise is still invisible. If you're one of those people that I'm preaching to this morning, the message is simple. The message is sure. If we're going to survive in this last day, if we're going to see the invisible promises of God in this last day, as the apostolic church, I refuse to allow the enemy to affect my spiritual mindset by the things that I can and cannot see in the kingdom of God. Come on. There's going to be some days you're going to get down and pray and say, "God, I haven't seen the miracles yet. God, I I haven't seen the revival yet. God, I haven't seen the influx of souls yet, but I'm going to tell you, God is still there., every word that he says is true., every promise that he's ordained,, it shall come to pass., and it does not matter if you can see it or not., what does matter is if you can still get down at an altar and hear the voice of God. Come on, somebody clap your hands under Jesus this morning. Come on. with faith coming by hearing and hearing by the word of God. and if faith is the evidence of things not seen, I'm going to tell you this morning if there's faith still some down in your feeble soul, if you feel weak, weary, broke down, busted, and disgusted, God is still on the throne. and you can stir up that faith this morning. if you can just heed to the voice of God even when you can't see the invisible. Somebody praise God one more time. There is a resounding sound in this last day. of the Bible tells us at least seven times in the New Testament in the book of Revelations, he that had an ear, let him hear what the spirit, which is Jesus Christ, God Almighty, is saying to the churches. That New Testament church is the same church that's sitting here this morning. God is still having a sound of resounding anointing that is being poured out upon his church. and that spirit is still saying to the church, he that had an ear, let him hear what the spirit is saying to the church. why? Because Jesus said, "My sheep hear my voice." and I know them and they follow me. he said, "A stranger they will not follow, for they do not know the voice of that stranger." Jesus Christ said, "I stand at the door and I knock., if any man would hear my voice,, I will come in unto him., and I will suck with him and he with me.", what is Jesus telling us this morning?, there it may be so many kinds of voices in this world and none of them are without significance., and I shall not heed to the voice of this world. I cannot heed to the voices of this world. I want to hear the voice of Almighty God. I want to hear the voice of Jesus Christ the righteous. when I can't see, I still have to be led by the voice of God. Hallelujah. With this in mind, if God desires for us to hear his voice and his voice only, I want to encourage you. I want to warn you that as the apostolic church, if we're going to see revival in these last days, we have to be weary. We have to be leerary. We have to be cognizant of the voices that we allow to speak in our ears. Come on now. We have to be weary, leery on guard to know that there's a devil, a lying, deceitful serpent that is trying to destroy the apostolic church. That there's a voice that is speaking into the ears of this generation. There's agnostic voices of educators and the public school system. There's godless and god-hating politicians and entertainers that are trying to tear and pull and twist the ears of the church. but I shall not hear the voices of an enemy. I shall not hear static voices of negativity because God's word is true. God's word is

anointed. God's word shall stand. and it is God's voice that I shall seek after. Hallelujah. From the beginning of time, Adam and Eve, the infasy of human life had the ability, had the opportunity to either be led by what they saw or be led by the voice of God. All right? But Eve was one of impaired vision. and selective hearing. Come on now. That the Bible says that as she looked upon the fruit, the Bible says that it was good to look upon her vision was distorted, contorted to look at the fruit of that tree rather than all the goodness of the garden that God had prepared for them. They didn't see the good that God had done. All they could see was what they couldn't have. Come on now. Yeah. And rather rather than heed into the voice of God that said, "Of every fruit you shall eat thereof, but of the tree of the knowledge of good of good and evil, thou shalt not eat." Eve allowed herself to hear the voice of a smooth, sly, seductive serpent. And when she could have partaken in the promises of God, they were cursed in the garden because they allowed themselves to hear the wrong voice. The children of Israel found themselves on the cusp of the Red Sea, allowing themselves to be freed from the captives of the Egyptians, on their way to the place of promise. But yet the children of Israel had impaired vision and selective hearing. For the Bible says they looked behind them and saw the Egyptians chasing after them. They could only can see the whips of the task masters the gold of Egypt. They envisited the fish and the cucumbers and the onions and thought that that was better than the the milk and honey that flowed in the promised land. they didn't see the pillar of fire by night. They didn't see the cloud by day. they didn't see the manner that fell from heaven. they didn't see the water that flowed from the rock. All they saw was their past and their problems. The children of Anoch are there. And I'm going to tell the apostolic church today, I love my heritage. I love this truth., but if we're going to have revival in this last days,, I can't keep looking behind me saying, "I wish it was the way it was.", I got to have revival in this day now. Come on. I can't harness myself on grandma's promises. I got to get it for myself. There are giants in the land. I can't win. souls in a druginfested city. I can't win souls in a in a murder capital of the of the United States of America. I can't win souls when there's prostitution on every corner. When there's single moms dragging six and seven kids to to to the store down the street. There's giants in the land. There's barriers in the land. There's walls. The walls are too great in the promised land. Come on. Whose forces are you listening to? The Bible says that as they spied out in the land of Canaanuh that the children of Israel, the there were 10 spies that came back. and the Bible says they came back with an evil report. And that evil report made the heart of the people melt. Talk about evaporating your faith. God, I thought you said we can have the land. I thought you said we can have the promise. That's right. But there were two people that said, "I don't care what that report says. I'm going to really believe the report of the Lord. I don't care what they say. I want to hear what he has to say. I don't want to hear the voices of negativity. I don't want to listen to doubters, pouters, complainers, aners, naysayers, and vision slayers.

I can get away with aners. I'm from Louisiana. We is. I want to hear the voice of God. Not only did they have impaired vision, selective hearing, but there was something that rose up in the land of Israel and the tribes of the people. In fact, it rose up in the ministry as the spirit of Kora grabbed a hold of the Levites and they said, "Moses, you take too much upon you." Come on. They said, "Moses, I I I I'm a preacher, too. God can speak to me, too." And they forgot that God had ordained had designated an apostolic prophet to speak to the people. Uh-huh. And I'm afraid that sometimes we feel as though that under our anointing, that under the uncction of God, that God loves and cares for us so much that he will step out of heaven and into our prayer rooms and tap us on our shoulders and give us some unique and new word. But there is no new word. There is no new revelation. If you're going to hear from God, you're going to hear it in three places mostly. You're going to hear it in the preached word of God. you're going to hear it from the word of God. or you're going to hear it through prayer. And I don't know about you, but if I'm going to be led by any spirit, I want to be led by the spirit of God. I don't want to be distracted by the enemy of hell. I don't want to be distracted by voices that say I can't because I believe that all things are possible to them that love Jesus Christ. I believe that I can do all things through Jesus Christ who strengthens me., anybody believe that today? Come on, say, "Anybody believe that God can still bring a revival in this last day?", hallelujah. Yeah. Hallelujah. Romans 10:14 says, "How then shall they call on him whom they've not believed?" Huh? And how shall they believe in him and whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? Preacher. If you're a saint of God today and you've been praying for direction, you feel like you're blind. You you're stumbling around in the dark trying to find your way. God, do I turn left? Do I turn right? Which way am I supposed to go? I've been fasting. I've been praying. I've been consecrating myself. God, am I supposed to start a bus route? Am I Am I supposed to knock doors and outreach? am I supposed to teach a Bible study? God, I need a sign of direction. I'm going to tell you where you're going to get your direction from. there's an apostolic anointed prophet of God that stands behind your pullpit. and if you're going to hear a voice of God, you need to learn to hear the voice of the man of God. Come on. The reason why I say that, we can dissect,, we can criticize,, we can analyze the sermon,, make sure that he got his Google facts just right., but I don't want to question the man of God,, if he's preaching from the word of God., for in them you will find life., in them you will find vision., in them you will find destiny. In I have to train myself to hear the man of God when I'm weak and weary and I need a word desperately from God. I can't allow the voices of Satan to infiltrate my spirit to drag my faith down so low to where I don't even know if I'm still called by God. Oh my God. You don't know how many days people cry, sad, they're lonely, trying to say, "God, I can't see the vision that you gave me anymore. God, where is the invisible promise that you gave my family? Where is the promise that you gave to my church? Where is the revival that you that you promised me?" And it's at the time of desperation that we need to hear from God. That we need to hear from the voice of heaven that we need to hear from Jesus Christ. greater than hearing these things. I want to preach and this is the message for today

on how to seek out the voice of God and the dry place. There'll come a day where there'll be famine in your land. There'll be famine in your heart where your prayer life will seem to have drifted away. There'll be days that you'll find yourself in a prayer closet and you can't even find the words to ask God for what you need. There'll come a day where you're looking for a miracle, where you're looking for a sign, where you're looking for direction, and you're going to feel like you're in a dry place. The ground is dry. The land is barren. There's no fruit to be seen. There's no results. God, you said to step out on faith, but every time I step out, I'm stepping on dry ground. God, I don't know if the people of this city really want to be saved. Come on. I'm talking to somebody this morning. But it's in that time that we need to know who our God is. It's in that time that you should know that God will never leave you. He will never forsake you. And he's always there. I said he's always there. Job. Job found himself in this predicament. I want you to think right now about the dry place. Tell me what Job said. Behold, I go forward, but he is not there. I go forward, but he is He is not there. and backward, but I cannot perceive him. I go backward and I know that he's supposed to be there. I cannot perceive him, but I can't perceive him on the left hand where he does work. God, where I know you're supposed to do miracles, where I know I'm supposed to see something manifested, where I know that destiny is supposed to be seen and revival is supposed to spring up, I cannot I cannot behold him. He He hideth himself on the right hand, but I cannot see him. It's like, God, I I I can't feel you. I can't see you. Where are you? I cannot see him. But he knoweth the way that I take. But God knows. He knoweth the way that I take. He knows the way that you take. He knoweth the way that I take. He knows the path that you have been set on. He knoweth the way that I take. When you can't see the path that it looks dark, guess what? God still there. Every step you take,, his hand is still guiding you. Every moment, his voice is still there, saying, "Stay on the straight and narrow." don't deviate to the left. don't deviate to the right. you keep living holy. You keep walking holy. You keep serving me. and I will bring it to pass. And when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. Anybody want to see revival in the church? Come on. Anybody want to see God's spirit poured out in the last day? come on. If you still believe that, somebody praise God right now. Come on. Praise God. God loves to hear our praises. come on. Let there be a sound that reaches to heaven that pleases almighty God. God, we are church seeking to hear your voice. we are church seeking direction. we are church seeking vision. let us hear what the spirit is saying to the church. Somebody give God another hand cup of praise. Real loud to God. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. In the dry place, God has called us to be laborers in his vineyard. But I'm going to be honest this morning. As a servant of God, there will come a day where you feel as though your labor is in vain. That's only if you're honest with yourself. Yeah. There'll come a day where you're going to feel as though God is the anointing still there. But the Bible tells us emphatically that they that labor in Christ, the labor is not in vain. Not in vain. And as we find ourselves in places of dryness, we find ourselves confronted with the voice of God as he came unto Ezekiel. Son of man,

can these bones live? All right. Son of man, what do you see when you look out into this valley? He say, I see a valley of dry bones. I'm talking to a preacher. I promised myself I wouldn't talk to the preachers, but I'm talking to a man of God. You look out in your city and to your naked eye, it seems as though it's a valley of dry bones. All right? There's drugs on every corner. There's God haters and Pentecostal imitators on every corner. God is a valley of dry bones. But if you can only see what God sees, it may be invisible to you, but to God there's an exceeding and great army that if you will speak the word shall rise up in your city. If you will believe the word it will rise up in your spirit. But as a laborer in Christ, we're tempted to ask too many questions. We're tempted to wander around. And because we're so vision oriented, I'm not knocking vision. And because we're so driven by what we see, the Bible says in Ecclesiastes that he that observeth, the clouds shall not sow, and he who lookth in the wind shall not reap. We spend so much time saying, "God, I want to see. God, I want to see you. God, I want to see. God, I want to see you." But there comes a day where we have to do less looking and do more working. If we're going to be a revivalistic, evangelistic, and apostolic church, we can't be afraid of hard work. I'm grateful for this man of God right here. Cuz if there's one thing he taught me, you better work until it hurt. You better give until it hurts. don't be afraid of hard work. don't be afraid of consecration. don't be afraid of sacrifice. you got to labor in the vineyards of God. even when it's dry. I want to see the invisible. Brothers, I want to see the miraculous. Look at your neighbor. Say, I want to hear God's voice when I can't see his hand. Even in sowing and in laboring for God, it may even cause us to question our doctrine. What do I mean? The Bible tells a story, a parable of the swer that he sold seeds in a vineyard, that he sold seeds in a land. And the Bible says that some seed fell on stony ground and some seed fell on thorns, but there was some seed that fell on good ground. I want to tell you that if you're looking to sew seeds in good ground, there's a good chance you won't find revival in your church. Yeah. Ain't going to happen. If you're still looking for good ground, I'm going to tell you, you're probably I won't say that. Because the reality is there's nothing pretty about revival. There's nothing luxurious about revival. You're going to have to sew seeds and plant seeds and keep throwing seeds and let them grow where they fall. You're going to have to believe in faith to say, "God, I don't know where the seeds are going to sprout up at, but I'm believing in faith that though I may not see growth here, and though I may not see growth there, if I keep sewing and I keep planting and I keep working, the invisible will all be manifested in some good ground somewhere. Come on. They may come to your church dirty, but guess what? That's the good ground that's left. Come on. Come on. They may come to your church struck out on alcohol. But guess what? That's the good ground that's still left. Come on. If you're looking for lawyers and doctors, I'm sorry. There ain't too many left that still want to be saved. but if I'm going to be saved, and if this world's going to be saved, we have to plant the seeds of the invisible. Come on, somebody praise God right now. Come on. You just got to keep on

laboring. come on. Jesus said, "Be not weary and welloing for in due season in due season you shall reap if ye faint not. Come on, praise God real loud. Come on. The Holy Ghost is coming. Come on. The Holy Ghost is moving. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Come on. I'm speaking to somebody right now that you've been weary and you've been down and you've been destroyed. I don't know if I should keep knocking doors. I don't know if I should keep outreaching. I'm going to tell you when you don't see it, you just keep on keeping on. Come on. You just keep on praying. you keep fasting. You keep preaching. You keep teaching Bible studies. you keep knocking doors. you keep you keep running buses. But what if only one soul comes to church? the last time I check Jesus said there's joy in heaven over one brother go there over one well over one sinner that cometh to repentance. I have to sew the seeds while it's day for the night cometh when no man can work. I want to hear what God has to say. God, if you say we can have the land, I want it. God, if you say we can have revival, I want it. I don't care what they say. I don't care what the world says. I want revival. Let me tell you why I want to hear what God has to say. You ready for this? Cuz the Bible says he called things that are not invisible as though they are. That means it may be invisible to you. but God already saw the revival. God already saw the souls coming. if hell can enlarge itself daily, so can the church. Come on, somebody. Praise God. Come on. I'm almost through. come on. I got two minutes. Literal minutes. Come on, somebody. Get with the vision. come on, somebody. Grab a hold of God's hand. and say Jesus where you lead me I will follow. where your voice says I will go. Come on. You can't quit knocking doors. I've had many doors slammed in my face. I've been cursed out many times. but guess what? As many seeds as I can throw, I know there's nothing wrong with the ground. there's nothing wrong with the seed. I got to keep preaching this doctrine. I got to keep living this doctrine. I shall I will see the invisible. Come on. That's it. Elijah got back to the top of the mountain. The Bible says that he he bowed his face to the earth trying to hear the voice of God. God, the land of Israel for three and a half years have been in a place of famine. That's right. No growth, no results, no harvest. The invisible. And the Bible says that he spoke to his servant and he said, "Go to the top of the mountain." He said, "Tell me what you see." Talking about some people want to see revival. He said, "Tell me what you see." So that servant tricked his way up the mountain. He gets all the way to the top. He looks out. He goes back to the bottom. He said, "Elijah, I don't I don't know what I was supposed to see. I don't know what I'm looking at." But he said, "There is nothing." Elijah said, "Go again seven times. Now, our dignified, sanctified, purified, pretty pis Pentecostal selves would probably question the preacher at that point and say, "If I didn't see anything the first time,

what makes you think I was going to see something the second time? Come on. Let alone the seventh time. Where are the further instructions? What am I supposed to see? But the Bible says that obedience is better than sacrifice. You know how you learn to be an obedient servant? You have to learn to be a good hearer. You have to learn to take instructions. The Bible says that he went back to the mountain. He squinted his eyes a little a little scared, I'm sure. Man, Elijah lost his mind. And he squinted out. And the Bible says that about the sea rose a cloud. I see the invisible. He said, "I believe he he ran down that mountain as fast as he could." He said, "Elijah, I see this a cloud that's the size of a man's hands." And the Bible said that Elijah said, "Get thee up. Don't let the rain stop you." But there's a sound of abundance of rain. Come on. The land that was barren, the land that was dry, the invisible was made visible. All because of the sound that a man of God heard. Come on, somebody begin to praise God. I feel it moving. Come on, that's faith stirring. Come on. Some of you just got to wait on it. Come on. Jesus said, "Tarry in Jerusalem until you be endured with power from on high." Sometimes you just got to wait for it. And when the day of Pentecost was fully come,, they were all in one place, in one accord. And suddenly there came a from heaven. You know how somebody knows there was a sound? Because the Bible the Bible didn't say it, but I know you can't hear a sound unless you hear it. Somebody was listening. The invisible promise was heard before it was seen. But do you have scriptural evidence for that? Yes, I do. But the Bible says after they heard the sound from heaven, the Bible says, "And suddenly there appeared unto them clothed in tongues like as of fire." I'm going to tell you, some things may be dry. Some things may be invisible, but there's a sound of abundance of rain. Come on. There's a sound that's brewing in the last day church. There's a sound that's brewing in the apostolic church. I want to hear the sound of the invisible. I want to hear the sound of the Bible study pages turning. I want to hear the sound of the yo of my hand knocking the doors of the lost. Come on, somebody make a sound to heaven right now. Come on. You only got one service after today to get what you need. You only have one service after today to hear from God. You better open up your ears. Open up your heart. Open up your mind and say, "God, I want to hear the epistle. If you came to this conference wanted to hear, I know Dolly World, Paula Deans, and all that stuff is good, but some of you came to Pigeon Forge and you really desperately need to hear from God. You desperately need to hear a word from God. You've been laboring. You've been working and your hands are growing weary. Your feet are growing tired and you say, "God, I need some direction. God, I need to hear your voice." And I'm believing right now in this altar call right now at the feet of this altar, I believe somebody's going to hear from God. Every hand lifted, every eye closed. If you need something from God, I don't know who you are, but I'm believing that the invisible that you're going to hear a sound. that you're going to hear the wind of revival begin to blow. that you're going to hear God begin to speak. that you're going to hear God begin to move. God speak Lord your servant hear it. God speak Lord your servant hear it. God open up the ears of your servants. God, open up the eyes of your servants that they may see that there are more that be with us that be with them

in the name of Jesus. come on, somebody begin to pray. come on. Come on. I need some old apostolic prayer warriors. Come on to cry out to God

Scripture references as spoken: Hebrews 11:1; Romans 10:17; 2 Corinthians 4:18; Romans 10:14; Ecclesiastes (book-only, as spoken); Job 23:8; Jude (book-only, as spoken).